


Tangled Heart Strings

by The_Hidden_Boots (Captain_Tomate)



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Soulmate AUs Galore, i love soulmate aus okay i'm cliche, yay~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-16 14:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9275153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Tomate/pseuds/The_Hidden_Boots
Summary: A collection of one-shots all set in different Soulmate AUs.





	1. Falling For You [PBG/Jared]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PBG knows his Soulmate isn't who he wants it to be. And now he knows that they're somebody he would never expect.

It's difficult to know that the person you love isn't even a possibility for your future. To know that, no matter how hard you wish for it, your color will never spill across their skin where you would touch them. It leads to you cursing Fate for letting you develop these feelings towards them while they're clearly not yours, and the heartbreak isn't pleasant to experience at all, especially when you _watch_ the one you're in love with be taken by a friend. And that was what PBG was enduring, his eyes flickering towards Mai and Hana every few seconds, unable to ignore the pastel pink on Mai's fingers and the stain of neon green on Hana's cheek from where she had brushed some hair out of her eyes.

Don't get him wrong, PBG was happy for his friends, really. They found each other, they'd treat each other right; he knew that. But, even still, he couldn't stop feeling the twinge of childish jealously tugging insistently at his chest. He could almost hear his thoughts biting at him, complaining that this _wasn't fair_ and that why couldn't life give him the chance to make her smile like that and every other thing it could whine about. If it wasn't for being in the middle of lunch, he would've face-planted into the table to get it to shut up.

Mai and Hana loved each other. They'd have a good life together. PBG could get over a little jealousy for his friend's happiness.

After lunch ended, despite that stupid nagging in his head saying that it wouldn't, life went on as usual. Classes were just as boring, soccer was a good distraction, and he threw himself into some Animal Intersection or Zilda at the end of the day. The only other exciting thing that happened was that, apparently, Shizuka had given Hana a whole speech about love and such, that she should be careful and blah, blah, blah. When Mai had told his that, PBG couldn't help but to chuckle for whatever reason.

It wasn't until Sunday, during one of the usual Normal Boots SSS tournaments, that something else happened. And it happened _fast._

All he knew was that something (probably a sneaker or whatever random thing he or Jon had thrown down there) had been left on the floor, there was a yelp, and then he was suddenly touching noses with Jared. He couldn't even make a surprised noise before Jared jumped back, smacking his head on the top bunk, before flopping one of the empty chairs and legs ending up flailing in the air for a second. Yep, there he was; the epitome of grace and beauty. The room erupted into laughter, only quieting when Jared let out a pained groan.

"You okay, du..." Jon started, trailing off and just... staring at Jared's face, a smug grin crossing his lips after a second.

Jared huffed, "No need to stare. I know that wasn't the most poised of me, but... Okay, really, what the hell is with that smile?" He started to scrub at his face, not even bothering to try to get up from his uncomfortable looking folded-up position. When nothing came back on his fingers, he finally sat up and narrowed his eyes at Jon, "Are you just trying to psyche me out or something?"

"Why would I do that?" Jon snorted, "I mean, it's just that little tumble of yours might've gotten you your soulmate."

A surprised noise came from PBG as Jared instantly turned his head to look at him. His eyes went round, and he started to laugh after a second, "Oh my God...Oh my God!" He didn't make an effort to move closer, and PBG was just frozen, staring at the rusty color of red-brown going down from the tip of Jared's nose to his chin. If PBG didn't know any better, he would've thought it was dried blood.

So... Jared was his Soulmate? How hadn't they figured that out before, he wondered. Really, they were around each other constantly, but they had never made any skin-on-skin contact? Well, stranger things had happened, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Any way, PBG wasn't sure what to make of this; he had found his Soulmate after enduring him being right under his nose this whole time, and it was _Jared,_ of all people. If he was one of Jared's many fangirls, he would've been squealing in joy, but all he could feel was a cold shock and a nervousness that was making his chest tighten.

What would be changing? All he had felt towards Jared prior was a bit of envy and mostly just slightly friendly competition. Now... Wow. PBG wasn't ready to process all of this right now.

But now Jared was sliding up by him, close but not too close to be touching, and managed to trap them in their own world even still. And then he started to talk.

"I know that you might not want me as a Soulmate. I'm not a guy with qualities you'd want in someone you'd spend your life with. But... Can we just give this - us, a chance? I promise, I'll try my hardest to keep you happy."

He was touching PBG's hand, sending warm sparks of an odd grey-purple mix shoot out from where his finger made contact with the skin.

And PBG found himself nodding, "Yeah. It might take a while, but... I think I can give this thing a chance to bloom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Soulmate AUs! There's more where this came from, so I hope you guys stick around~
> 
> (And, if you want, you can request a pairing and a Soulmate AU at my tumblr- http://boots-hidden-in-a-normal-block.tumblr.com/)


	2. Taking Care of Plants [Shane/Ian]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian has never been sure what to make of the words printed on his wrist, but they slowly start to make sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeyyyy, more plant husbands from me! This time, it's not too much romance, but it's a start to it at least. Hope you enjoy~

Soulmarks were confusing. That had been clear to Ian since he was old enough to understand the explanations of it. There was supposed to be a string of words scrawled somewhere on your body at birth, telling you who fate had preemptively decided you would be with. Words that literally _ anyone  _ was capable of saying, but you were expected to find the right person, even if your words were a simple greeting. It was a weird system they had built romance on.

Still, that was the way of the world, and Ian didn't have much of a choice than to follow along. It probably helped that his parents insisted that he was a lucky one; someone with words that were something that wouldn't just come up in a normal conversation or whatever. And they were right with that last bit, but the "lucky" part seemed like a bit of a stretch.

From the words, he could tell was that his Soulmate was apparently fairly aggressive about proper plant care, going so far as to tell him "Doesn't matter, just... water that goddamn fern or so help me" first thing when they met. No greeting or anything. Yeah, Ian really wasn't sure what to feel about that.

Really, he wasn't all that obsessed with finding his Soulmate as others were. He didn’t go out of his way to find them. What happened would happen whenever the time came.

It seemed that time was close, though, because here he was; a first year, standing in front of Asagao Academy, trying not to drop the small potted fern his mother had pretty much shoved into his hands before he left.

He could almost feel it. This was where he would meet the one he was pretty sure was going to smack him upside the head because of this stupid plant.

Like everyone else, he was shown around the school, before finally getting dropped off at his dorm. His roommate had already been in the room, telling by the few posters that had already been put up, but had left for whatever reason, so Ian put his plant down, tucked away in a corner and claimed the bottom bunk for his own.

Well, this was going to be... a fun part of his life…

Though, it did take longer than expected to find them. A full year longer than he expected.

* * *

 

"What the hell were you doing in there?"

Ian glared at the newest member of Normal Boots, giving him the nastiest look he could muster as Shane went to close the door to Ian's dorm. Before he could do so, however, Ian stopped him; he squeezed through, looking around to see what the other had probably done. Everything looked pretty neat; nothing out of place and just like he and Jeff had left it when they went to class. Okay, so, no stupid initiation prank like he had expected...

He looked back at Shane, who was still standing in the doorway, an unamused expression on his face. "What did you do...?"

"Doesn't matter," he huffed, jabbing a finger towards the half-wilted fern in the corner, "just... water that goddamn fern or so help me."

Before Ian could respond, Shane turned and left the room, closing the door. Slowly, after recovering from the surprise and closing his mouth, Ian sighed. Alright, here he was, the words on his arm tingling and almost burning; not wanting him to forget what had just happened. 

Great... Just great. He barely knew  _ anything  _ about Shane, and with both of their words being... not all too pleasant or polite, this was not the greatest first impression. He'd probably have to make himself not look like an asshole if he wanted anything good between them to start...

Ian shook his head at himself, falling onto his bed with a sigh.

Wow; if only the younger version of him could see him now. He hadn't believed in this, but now he wanted to see what path this thing could take. Amazing how many years of curiosity could change…

He looked over at the plant in the corner, staring at it. Well, he had been meaning to water it... He had just forgotten. A lot of times.

Well, now was as good a time as any to start, right?

Though, after he filled an extra bottle with water and crouched beside it, he noticed that the plant already had some water soaked into the soil. That could have only been the work of one person. He started to chuckle, quietly, and put the bottle down on the nearby dresser, "Of course..."

Okay. He knew one little thing about Shane...


	3. Best Friends [Unrequited PBG/Jeff]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PBG and Jeff have a talk about their views on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you want angst? 'Cause I'll write angst. As seen here.
> 
> I hope this is good! I wrote it while tired so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy!!
> 
> [AU - You get a random sentence your soulmate will say to you at some point in your life somewhere on your body.]

PBG leaned against the door to Jeff's room, tugging at the bottom of his jacket anxiously and waiting for his friend to actually open the door. He tried not to focus too much on the tingling on his shoulder, wanting to put all his focus towards the one in the room instead.  
  
"Jeff?" He mumbled for what had to be the fifth time, leaning his head closer to the door so he was heard. After a second, he quietly knocked on the door. "Please... Why are you so upset?"   
  
Was it something about him? Did he need to change something? This was supposed to be happy, right...?   
  
"...I..." He heard Jeff let out some kind of frustrated noise he couldn't recognize, lightly thumping his head back against the door. "It's hard to explain, Peebs... Just..."   
  
PBG yelped as the door opened, almost making him fall onto his back. He hopped up to his feet, taken aback to see Jeff looking like he was ready to cry. Slowly, he reached up a hand, instinctively going to cup Jeff's cheek with a hand.   
  
However, Jeff just grabbed his wrist, shaking his head, "Don't. Please, just... don't..." He pulled PBG into the room, closing the door behind them.   
  
Confusion started to course through the younger boy as Jeff motioned for him to sit down. Was Jeff upset about this? Did he not like the fact that they were, apparently, soulmates? Why? His head was filled with questions.   
  
He snapped back to reality when Jeff took a deep breath to steel himself. "I know you've been wanting something like this, Peebs," He began, voice quiet, "To find a Soulmate. To be binded to someone by Fate, but... That's not what I want for myself. At least, not like this..."

Motioning between them, Jeff didn't leave any room for PBG to say anything in retaliation, nor for him to ask any questions, “We're… We're only supposed to be _friends_ . That's all! But then life decided to mess that up…” Jeff ruffled his hair, starting to pace the room, “I don't like this system our world is built around. It… It doesn't seem _right_ , y’know?”

“Have you been talking to Shane?” PBG asked, surprised at the bitterness in his own voice. Why did he say that? Jeff could have his own view on this, without having to be influenced by the one guy in school notorious for not believing in it.

Jeff stared at him. Wow, he looked… exhausted. Drained and lifeless and just very un-Jeff-like. “No, I haven't. I just believe in _actual_ love, not something that gets pushed on you.” Ouch, that stung. “I don't want to fight you about this, PBG. Just… Let's forget about all of this, okay? I don't want to be selfish, but I don't want both of us to end up hurt and unhappy either.”

“...Alright.” PBG huffed, standing up. He felt bitterness rising in his gut, aimed towards Jeff, “Fine. We can forget about this…” Easier said than done; the words on his arm were still tingling in that annoying way.

“Wonderful...” Jeff sighed, watching as PBG stormed out of the room. After a minute of silence, he lowered himself onto his bed, putting his head in his hands. Hopefully… PBG wouldn't hate him forever for this…

He felt dread rise up in his gut, throat and eyes burning as he tried to hold back tears.

Why couldn't life play fair?


End file.
